B1.3 The use and abuse of drugs Flashcards
What do drugs change?
Your body chemistry
What do changes in the body chemistry as a result of taking drugs lead to?
Becoming addicted to the drug
What can addicts suffer if they do not take the drug?
Withdrawal symptoms
What are the three types of drugs?
Medicinal, Recreational and Performance-Enhancing
What are medicinal drugs?
Medicinally useful, e.g. antibiotics. For some a prescription is needed (e.g. morphine) but others not (e.g. paracetamol)
What are recreational drugs used for?
Fun. These can be both legal (e.g. alcohol) or illegal (e.g. cannabis)
What do performance-enhancing drugs do?
Improve a person’s performance in sport
Name two types of performance enhancing drugs
Anabolic steroids and stimulants
What do anabolic steroids do?
Increase muscle size
What do stimulants do?
Increase heart rate
What are the rules surrounding performance-enhancing drugs?
Some are illegal, some are prescription only, however all are banned by sporting bodies
What is a negative health effect of steroids?
High blood pressurre
What are the ethical arguments for performance enhancing drugs?
- Athletes can make their own decisions about whether the drug is worth the risk or not
- Drug-free is sport is no more fair, some athletes have access to better training facilities, coaches, equipment etc
What are the ethical arguments against performance-enhancing drugs?
- it is unfair if people gain an advantage by taking the drugs
- Athletes may not have been informed of the serious health risks of the drugs they take
What are statins?
Prescribed drugs that lower the risk of heart and circulatory disease
What is there evidence of that statins lower?
Blood cholesterol and significantly lower the risk of heart disease in diabetic patients
What is the first stage of drug testing?
Drugs are tested on human cells and tissues
What is the second stage of drug testing?
Drugs are tested on live animals to find out about its toxicity and the best dosage
What is the third stage of drug testing?
If successful with animals, the drug is tested on human volunteers in a clinical trial
What is the fourth stage of drug testing?
The drug is tested on healthy volunteers, to test for side effects. A low dosage given at the start which is gradually increased
What is the fifth stage of drug testing?
The drug is tested on patients who have the illness. The optimum dosage is found, the one most effective with the least side effects
What is the sixth stage of drug testing?
the patients are put into two groups. One is given the drug and the other a placebo. So that the actual difference the drug makes can be seen, it allows for placebo effect
What is a placebo?
A substance that is like the drug being tested but doesn’t do anything
What is the placebo effect?
When the patient expects the treatment to work and so feels better, even though the treatment isn’t doing anythign
What are clinical trails?
Blind, the patient doesn’t know whether they get the placebo or real drug
What is a double blind clinical trial?
Neither the doctor nor the patient knows which is the drug or the placebo
What do new drugs have to go through before being released for use?
Rigorous testing and clinical trials to ensure there a re no unexpected side effects etc
What was Thalidomide intended as?
A sleeping pill
What was Thalidomide found to also be effective against shortly after?
Morning sickness
What side effects did thalidomide cause when used as a morning sickness pill?
Abnormal limb development and severe limb abnormalities of the fetus
Why were these side effects not detected?
The drug had not been tested for morning sickness as it hadn’t been tested on pregnant women or for effects on the fetuses
What happened to thalidomide after the side effects were discovered?
It was banned and went under more rigorous testing procedures which were brought in as a result
What has Thalidomide now been discovered to treat?
Leprosy and other diseases
What are heroin and cocaine?
Addictive
What is cannabis?
Illegal, the chemicals in cannabis smoke can cause mental health problems in some
What can the misuse of illegal substances such as ecstasy, heroin and cannabis lead to?
Heart and circularatory problems
The overall impact of legal drugs is much greater than…
The impact of illegal drugs because far more people use them
What do some consider cannabis as?
A gateway drug
What are the negative effects of smoking?
- Disease of the heart, blood vessels and the lungs
- Cancer
- Nicotine is addictive so it is hard to stop smoking
What are the negative effects of alcohol?
- It affects the nervous system and slows down the bodies reactions
- Causes impaired judgement, poor coordination and unconsciousness
- Liver disease and brain damage
- It is addictive
What affects on the economy do many legal drugs have?
High costs due to crime, there are lost working days as a result often, the NHS spend a huge amount of money treating diseases as a result of these drugs
What other effects do legal drugs have on society?
They cause sorrow and anguish to people affected by them, directly and indirectly
